Julius Caesar: Difference between revisions

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Biography

Early life

Caesar grew up in a patrician family which, although it claimed a pedigree reaching back to before the founding of Rome, had only come to political prominence during his father's generation. Two relatives had been consuls in the 90s BC, and Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, had been praetor and governor of Asia, and was brother-in-law to Gaius Marius, one of the most prominent men in the Republic. His mother, Aurelia, came from an influential family, the Aurelii Cottae.^[4]

During Caesar's childhood, Rome already ruled much of the Mediterranean, but was politically unstable and faced external threats. The Social War against her Italian allies, over the issue of Roman citizenship and the spoils of conquest, was fought from 91 to 88 BC, and Mithridates of Pontus was pressing her eastern provinces. With the Social War settled, Lucius Cornelius Sulla was appointed to lead the campaign against Mithridates, until a tribune passed a law stripping him of his command and transferring it to Marius. Sulla, who was with his troops near Naples, marched on Rome, forced Marius into exile, and left on campaign. Once he was gone, Marius retook the city, with the help of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, and took bloody revenge on Sulla's supporters. One of those killed was Lucius Cornelius Merula, the Flamen Dialis or priest of Jupiter. Marius died in 85 BC, leaving Cinna in control of the city.^[5]

A young Caesar^[6]
© VRoma (Used by permission)

In 84 BC Caesar's father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning,^[7] leaving the sixteen-year-old Caesar as head of the family. He was nominated to replace Merula as Flamen Dialis, and broke off his engagement to Cossutia, the daughter of a wealthy equestrian, to marry Cinna's daughter Cornelia.^[8]

Having brought Mithridates to terms, Sulla returned to Italy, and civil war resumed. Cinna was killed in a mutiny of his own troops. Sulla retook Rome in November 82 BC, had himself appointed dictator, and embarked on a campaign of political murder that dwarfed even Marius's purges.^[9] Caesar, as Marius's nephew and Cinna's son-in-law, was firmly identified with Sulla's enemies. He was stripped of his inheritance and his priesthood, but refused to divorce Cornelia and was forced to go into hiding. His mother's family and the Vestal Virgins intervened on his behalf, and Sulla reluctantly lifted the threat against him, remarking that there were "many Mariuses" in the young Caesar.^[10]

Caesar did not return to Rome, but instead joined the army. He served in Asia, his father's old province, and Cilicia, and won the corona civica for his part in the siege of Mytilene. On a mission to Bithynia, he spent so long at the court of king Nicomedes that rumours of an affair with the king arose, which would persist for the rest of his life.^[11]

He returned to Rome after Sulla's death in 78 BC and began to use his oratorical talents in the courts. In 75 BC he travelled to Rhodes to study under Apollonius Molon, but on his way there was kidnapped by pirates. After he was released on payment of a ransom, he pursued the pirates in a small fleet and had them crucified on his own authority.^[12]

Political career

Early career

Caesar returned to Rome and began to climb the political ladder. He was elected military tribune, the first step in the cursus honorum, in 72 or 71 BC, around the time of the war against Spartacus, although it is not known what part, if any, he played in it. In 69 both his wife Cornelia and his aunt Julia, Marius's widow, died. Caesar delivered their funeral orations, and included images of Marius, unseen since Sulla's dictatorship, in Julia's funeral procession. He was elected quaestor for the same year, and served his year in office in Hispania. On his return to Rome he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla.^[13] However, he continued to rehabilitate Marius's reputation while aedile in 65 BC, restoring the trophies of his victories, and brought prosecutions against those who had benefited financially from Sulla's proscriptions. He spent a great deal of borrowed money on public works and games, outshining, not for the last time, his colleague Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus.^[14] During this period he was suspected of involvement in a number of attempted coups, one involving Marcus Licinius Crassus,^[15] and supported the extraordinary commands given to Pompey, against the Cilician pirates in 67 BC,^[16] and against Mithridates the following year.^[17]

Caesar comes to prominence

63 BC was an eventful year for Caesar. He persuaded a tribune, Titus Labienus, to bring a prosecution against Gaius Rabirius. In 100 BC Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, a tribune and ally of Marius, had been declared a public enemy by the Senate, and Marius had been obliged to besiege him in the Senate house. He had promised Saturninus and his followers that their lives would be spared if they surrendered, but instead they were stoned to death with roof tiles by a crowd that included senators.^[18] Rabirius was now accused of the crime, and as by Roman law a tribune's person was sacrosanct, he was tried for perduellio (treason). He was defended by Cicero and Quintus Hortensius, the two foremost advocates of the day, but Caesar himself was one of the two judges, and Rabirius was convicted. But while he was exercising his right of appeal to the people, the praetor Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer adjourned the assembly by taking down the military flag from the Janiculum hill. Labienus could have resumed the prosecution at a later session, but did not do so: Caesar's point had been made, and the matter was allowed to drop.^[19] Labienus would remain an important ally of Caesar over the next decade.

The same year, Caesar ran for election to the post of Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the Roman state religion, after the death of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, who had been appointed by Sulla. He ran against two former consuls, Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus. There were accusations of bribery by all sides. Caesar is said to have told his mother on the morning of the election that he would return as Pontifex Maximus or not at all, expecting to be forced into exile by the enormous debts he had run up to fund his campaign. In the event he won comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing.^[20] The post came with an official residence on the Via Sacra.^[21]

When Cicero, who was consul that year, exposed Catiline's conspiracy to seize control of the republic, Catulus and others accused Caesar of involvement in the plot.^[22] During the debate in the Senate on how to deal with the conspirators, Caesar was passed a note. Marcus Porcius Cato, who would become his most implacable political opponent, accused him of corresponding with the conspirators, and demanded that the message be read aloud. Caesar passed him the note, which, embarrassingly, turned out to be a love letter from Cato's half-sister Servilia. Caesar argued persuasively against the death penalty for the conspirators, proposing life imprisonment instead, but a speech by Cato proved decisive, and the conspirators were executed.^[23]

Praetor

While praetor in 62 BC Caesar supported Metellus Celer, now tribune, in proposing controversial legislation, and the pair were so obstinate they were suspended from office by the Senate. Caesar attempted to continue to perform his duties, only giving way when violence was threatened. The Senate was persuaded to reinstate him after he quelled public demonstrations in his favour.^[24] A commission had been set up to investigate Catiline's conspiracy, and Caesar was again accused of complicity, but, relying on Cicero's evidence that he had reported what he knew of the plot voluntarily, he was cleared, and not only one of his accusers, but also one of the commissioners, were sent to prison.^[25]

That year the festival of the Bona Dea ("good goddess") was held at Caesar's house. No men were permitted to attend, but a young patrician named Publius Clodius Pulcher managed to gain admittance disguised as a woman, apparently for the purpose of seducing Caesar's wife Pompeia. He was caught and prosecuted for sacrilege. Clodius was acquitted after Caesar gave no evidence against him. Nevertheless, Caesar divorced Pompeia, saying that "my wife ought not even to be under suspicion."^[26]

Propraetor

After his praetorship, Caesar was sent as propraetor to govern Hispania Ulterior, but he was still in considerable debt, and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his implacable opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Hispania he conquered the Callaici and Lusitani and was hailed as imperator by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem.^[27]

Being hailed as imperator entitled him to receive a triumph upon his return to Rome. However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony, but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time available. He asked the senate for permission to stand in absentia, but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.^[28]

Consul

The election was dirty. There were three candidates: Caesar, Lucius Lucceius and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, who had been aedile with Caesar several years earlier. Caesar canvassed Cicero for support, and made an alliance with the wealthy Lucceius, but the establishment threw its financial weight behind the conservative Bibulus, and even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in his favour. Caesar and Bibulus were elected as consuls for 59 BC.^[29]

Caesar was already in Crassus's political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey, who was unsuccessfully fighting the Senate for ratification of his eastern settlements and farmland for his veterans. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds since they were consuls together in 70 BC, and Caesar knew if he allied himself with one he would lose the support of the other, so he endeavoured to reconcile them. Between the three of them, they had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the First Triumvirate, was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter Julia.^[30] Caesar also married again, this time Calpurnia, daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, who was elected to the consulship for the following year.^[31]

Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, and the triumvirate's opponents were intimidated. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavourable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His lictors had their fasces broken, two tribunes accompanying him were wounded, and Bibulus himself had a bucket of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved so ineffective that Roman satirists referred to that year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar".^[32]

When Caesar and Bibulus were first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit Caesar's future power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than governorship of a province, as their proconsular duties after their year of office was over.^[33] With the help of Piso and Pompey, Caesar later had this overturned, and was instead appointed to govern Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Illyricum (the western Balkans), with Transalpine Gaul (southern France) later added, giving him command of four legions. His term of office, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one.^[34] When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his province.^[35]

The conquest of Gaul

Caesar was still deeply in debt, and there was money to be made as a provincial governor, whether by extortion or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces, Illyricum and Transalpine Gaul, bordered on unconquered territory, and independent Gaul was known to be unstable. Rome's allies the Aedui had been defeated by their Gallic rivals, with the help of a contingent of Germanic Suebi under Ariovistus, who had settled in conquered Aeduan land, and the Helvetii were mobilising for a mass migration, which the Romans feared had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated first the Helvetii, then Ariovistus, and left his army in winter quarters in the territory of the Sequani, signaling that his interest in the lands outside Transalpine Gaul would not be temporary.^[36]

He began his second year with double the military strength he had started with, having raised another two legions in Cisalpine Gaul during the winter. The legality of this was dubious, as the Cisalpine Gauls were not Roman citizens. In response to Caesar's activities the previous year, the Belgic tribes of north-eastern Gaul had begun to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move, and, after an inconclusive engagement against a united Belgic army, conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one legion, commanded by Crassus' son Publius, began the conquest of the tribes of the Armorican peninsula.^[37]

During the spring of 56 BC the Triumvirate held a conference at Luca (modern Lucca) in Cisalpine Gaul. Rome was in turmoil, and Clodius' populist campaigns had been undermining relations between Crassus and Pompey. The meeting renewed the Triumvirate and extended Caesar's proconsulship for another five years. Crassus and Pompey would be consuls again, with similarly long-term proconsulships to follow: Syria for Crassus, the two Hispanian provinces for Pompey.^[38] The conquest of Armorica was completed when Caesar defeated the Veneti in a naval battle, while young Crassus conquered the Aquitani of the south-west. By the end of campaigning in 56 BC only the Morini and Menapii of the coastal Low Countries still held out.^[39]

In 55 BC Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by the Germanic Usipetes and Tencteri, and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued the Morini and Menapii, he crossed to Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided the Veneti against him the previous year. His intelligence was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the Kent coast he was unable to advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter.^[40] He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, establishing Mandubracius of the Trinovantes as a friendly king and bringing his rival, Cassivellaunus, to terms. But poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, led by Ambiorix of the Eburones, forcing Caesar to campaign through the winter and into the following year. With the defeat of Ambiorix, Caesar believed Gaul was now pacified.^[41]

While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had died in childbirth. Caesar tried to resecure Pompey's support by offering him his great-niece Octavia in marriage, alienating Octavia's husband Gaius Marcellus, but Pompey declined. In 53 BC Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of Parthia. Rome was on the edge of violence. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an emergency measure, and married Cornelia, daughter of Caesar's political opponent Quintus Metellus Scipio, whom he invited to become his consular colleague once order was restored. The Triumvirate was dead.^[42]

In 52 BC another, larger revolt erupted in Gaul, led by Vercingetorix of the Arverni. Vercingetorix managed to unite the Gallic tribes and proved an astute commander, defeating Caesar in several engagements including the Battle of Gergovia, but Caesar's elaborate siege-works at the Battle of Alesia finally forced his surrender.^[43] Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year,^[44] Gaul was effectively conquered.

Civil war

to come

Dictatorship

Mettius-denar of Caesar^[45]
© VRoma (Used by permission)

to come

Assassination

to come

Legacy

to come

Cultural contributions

Literary work

Caesar was an accomplished writer, and is one of the most important literary sources for his own life. His Commentarii (commentaries or notebooks) on his military campaigns have survived entire. These may have been intended as rough materials for future historians, but in their quality and economy of expression, as Cicero notes,^[46] they stand on their own as literary works. The Commentarii de bello Gallico ("on the Gallic war") cover his campaigns in Gaul in seven books, probably written in the winters following each campaigning season and circulated in Rome as political propaganda,^[47] with an eighth book written after his death by his subordinate Aulus Hirtius. The Commentarii de bello civili ("on the civil war") recount the first two years of the civil war, up to the beginning of his Alexandrian campaign in 48 BC, in three books. These are supplemented by three further books, which are not believed to be Caesar's work: the Commentarii de bello Alexandrini ("on the Alexandrian war"), which also covers the campaign against Pharnaces of Pontus in 47 BC; the Commentarii de bello Africo ("on the African war"), covering his campaigns against Scipio, Cato and Juba in Africa in 46 BC; and the Commentarii de bello Hispaniensis ("on the Spanish war"), on his campaigns against Pompey's sons in Hispania in 45 BC. The authorship of these books was uncertain even in antiquity: some thought they too were the work of Hirtius, others of Gaius Oppius.^[48]

He wrote a number of other literary works, now lost bar a few fragments quoted by later writers. These include De analogia ("on analogy"), a work on Latin grammar dedicated to Cicero; Anticato, a character assassination of Cato in two books, written in 46 BC in response to works in praise of his old enemy by Brutus and Cicero;^[49] Iter ("the journey"), a poem in two books;^[50] and a number of other poems, including three epigrams preserved in the Latin Anthology.^[51] A few of his letters are included or quoted in the collection of Cicero's Letters, and others, now lost, were known to Suetonius^[52] and Appian.^[53]

Three of his youthful efforts, the Laudes Herculis ("praises of Hercules"), the tragedy Oedipus,^[54] and his Dicta collectanea ("collected sayings", also known by the Greek title άποφθέγματα, "apothegms" or "bons mots")^[55] were deliberately suppressed by Augustus,^[56] who not only adopted an "official style" for his writings but also ordered such works of Julius Caesar as he considered unworthy of the Caesars to be destroyed. Other lost works include De astris liber ("book of the stars"), a work on astronomy and the calendar;^[57] Libri auspiciorum ("books of auspices", also known as Auguralia), a work on omens and soothsaying;^[58] and possibly some early love poems. He is also likely to have contributed to the libri pontificales of the pontifical college while Pontifex Maximus between 63 and 44 BC.

Oratory

Caesar was a talented orator, regarded as second only to Cicero and praised for the vigour and elegance of his language. Instructed by Apollonius Molon and influenced by his relative Caesar Strabo, he combined a high-pitched delivery with impassioned, graceful gestures.^[59] However, his pursuit of political and military success did not allow his talent to flourish as much as it otherwise might have, and Tacitus regards his speeches, then extant, as "dull and cold".^[60] Speeches of which fragments survive include:

Orationes in Cn. Cornelium Dolabellam
Suasio Legis Plautiae
Laudatio Iuliae amitae
Ad milites in Africa
Apud milites de commodis eorum
Pro Bithynis

The Julian Calendar

to come

Cultural depictions

to come

References

↑ Latin script: GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR; official name: Gaius Iulius Gai Filius Caesar (with Gai filius meaning "son of Gaius"); official name after his consecration 42 BC: Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar Divus, epigraphically: IMP•C•IVLIVS•CAESAR•DIVVS, best translated as "Commander [and] God Gaius Julius Caesar"; also known: Gaius Iulius Gaii Filius Gaii Nepos Caesar, translated: "Gaius Julius Caesar, son of Gaius, grandson of Gaius". Caesar often spoke of himself only as Gaius Caesar, omitting the nomen gentile (cf. Plutarch, Caesar 46). For the meaning and the etymology of Gaius Iulius Caesar see here.
↑ Due to the collision with the principal day of the ludi Apollinaris, the feast day in honor of Caesar's birth was moved from the 13th to the 12th of July in the Roman fasti after Caesar's consecration as Divus Iulius, since according to a Sibylline oracle it was not permitted to hold a festival for any other god than Apollo on July 13th. Cf. Cassius Dio: Roman History 47.18.6; see also Georg Wissowa (Religion und Kultus der Römer, 1912/1971), Matthias Gelzer (Caesar, 1959/1983), Stefan Weinstock (Divus Julius, 1971/2004) et al.
↑ The most widely accepted year of birth. A case was made for 102 BC (cf. Theodor Mommsen: Römische Geschichte III 16.1, Römisches Staatsrecht I 568.2 & 569.2; pro: T. Rice Holmes: The Roman Republic, 1923, I 436–442), but was quickly rejected by Karl Nipperdey (Die leges annales. Leipzig 1865) and is generally viewed as incorrect.
↑ Suetonius, Julius 1; Plutarch, Caesar 1, Marius 6; Inscriptiones Italiae 13.3.51-52
↑ Appian, Civil Wars 1:34-75; Plutarch, Marius 32-46, Sulla 6-10; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.15-22; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 5; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2:6, 2:9
↑ This is the first known coin with the likeness of Caesar. The coin depicts Caesar in his youth and was minted in 48 or 47 BC in Nicaea.
↑ Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7.54; Suetonius, Julius 1
↑ Suetonius, Julius 1; Plutarch, Caesar 1; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.41
↑ Appian, Civil Wars 1.76-102; Plutarch, Sulla 24-33; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.23-28; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 5; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2:9
↑ Plutarch, Caesar 1; Suetonius, Julius 1
↑ Suetonius, Julius 2-3; Plutarch, Caesar 2-3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.20
↑ According to Suetonius (Julius 3-4). Plutarch (Caesar 1.8-3) relates these events in a different order; Velleius Paterculus (Roman History 41.3-42), tells the story of Caesar's kidnapping, but does not give a precise chronology.
↑ Suetonius, Julius 5-8; Plutarch, Caesar 5; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.43
↑ Suetonius, Julius 9-11; Plutarch, Caesar 5.6-6; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.8, 10
↑ Suetonius, Julius 9
↑ Plutarch, Pompey 25
↑ Cassius Dio, Roman History 36.42
↑ Appian, Civil Wars 32-33; Plutarch, Marius 29-30
↑ Cicero, For Gaius Rabirius; Cassius Dio, Roman History 26-28
↑ Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.43; Plutarch, Caesar 7; Suetonius, Julius 13
↑ Suetonius, Julius 46
↑ Sallust, Catiline War 49
↑ Cicero, Against Catiline 4.7-9; Sallust, Catiline War 50-55; Plutarch, Caesar 7.5-8.3, Cicero 20-21, Cato the Younger 22-24; Suetonius, Julius 14
↑ Suetonius, Julius 16
↑ Suetonius, Julius 17
↑ Cicero, Letters to Atticus 1.12, 1.13, 1.14; Plutarch, Caesar 9-10; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.45
↑ Plutarch, Caesar 11-12; Suetonius, Julius 18.1
↑ Plutarch, Julius 13; Suetonius, Julius 18.2
↑ Plutarch, Caesar 13-14; Suetonius 19
↑ Cicero, Letters to Atticus 2.1, 2.3], 2.17; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.44; Plutarch, Caesar 13-14, Pompey 47, Crassus 14; Suetonius, Julius 19.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.54-58
↑ Suetonius, Julius 21
↑ Cicero, Letters to Atticus 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19, 2.20, 2.21; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 44.4; Plutarch, Caesar 14, Pompey 47-48, Cato the Younger 32-33; Cassius Dio, Roman History 38.1-8
↑ Suetonius, Julius 19.2
↑ Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2:44.4; Plutarch, Caesar 14.10, Crassus 14.3, Pompey 48, Cato the Younger 33.3; Suetonius, Julius 22; Cassius Dio, Roman History 38:8.5
↑ Suetonius, Julius 23
↑ Cicero, Letters to Atticus 1.19; Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico Book 1; Appian, Gallic Wars Epit. 3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 38.31-50
↑ Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War 2; Appian, Gallic Wars Epit. 4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 39.1-5
↑ Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus 2.3; Suetonius, Julius 24; Plutarch, Caesar 21, Crassus 14-15, Pompey 51
↑ Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War Book 3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 39.40-46
↑ Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War Book 4; Appian, Gallic Wars Epit. 4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47-53
↑ Cicero, Letters to friends 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.10, 7.17; Letters to his brother Quintus 2.13, 2.15, 3.1; Letters to Atticus 4.15, 4.17, 4.18; Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War Book 5-6; Cassius Dio, Roman History 40.1-11
↑ Suetonius, Julius 26; Plutarch, Caesar 23.5, Pompey 53-55, Crassus 16-33; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 46-47
↑ Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War Book 7; Cassius Dio, Roman History 40.33-42
↑ Aulus Hirtius, Commentaries on the Gallic War Book 8]
↑ DICT QVART ("four times dictator of Rome"): minted by Mettius and preceding the famous Buca-denarius of the same type with the inscription DICTATOR PERPETVO ("dictator for eternity"; cf. Andreas Alföldi: "Das wahre Gesicht Caesars". In: Antike Kunst 2, 1959). Typical of the Mettius/Buca-type is the fatigued, yet spiritualized and nearly transfigured expression, the slightly hooked nose, the haggard face, the accentuated Adam's apple and the vulture-like neck. The wreath is the corona laurea that Caesar was entitled to wear always and everywhere after the Senate had granted him the praenomen Imperatoris in 45 BC (Suetonius, Julius 76.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.44.2). To the left of Caesar's head is the lituus, which the augur used to measure the templum. (Caesar had become augur in 47 BC; cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 42.51.4 and Cicero, Letters to Friends 13.68).
↑ Cicero, Brutus 262
↑ Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: the Life of a Colossus, Wiedenfield & Nicholson, 2006, p. 188
↑ Suetonius, Julius 56
↑ Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.40, 12.41, 13.50; Suetonius, Julius 56.5; Plutarch, Caesar54.3-5; Goldsworthy, Caesar, pp. 487-488
↑ Suetonius, Julius 56.5; Suetonius, Terence 7
↑ Latin Anthology 68-70
↑ Suetonius, Julius 56.6
↑ Appian, Civil Wars2.79
↑ It is a mentionable parallel that Suetonius renders Caesar's defilement of the Roman motherland as an Oedipal dream (Suetonius, Julius 7.2).
↑ Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.16
↑ Suetonius, Julius 56.7
↑ O.A.W. Dilke, "The Literary Output of the Roman Emperors", Greece & Rome IV 1, 1957, p. 92-94
↑ "Caesar", in Meyers Konversationslexikon Vol. III, p. 841
↑ Cicero, Brutus 72, 74; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2:36.2; Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria 10:1.114; Suetonius, Julius 55
↑ Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory 21

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-[[Image:Caesar_TusculumHead.jpg|260px|thumb|right|'''Contemporary depiction of C. Iulius Caesar'''<br><small>© AERIA (Used by [http://locke.citizendium.org:8080/wiki/Image_talk:Caesar_TusculumHead.jpg/Permission permission])</small>]]'''Gaius Iulius Caesar''' (anglicised '''Gaius Julius Caesar'''; born 13 July<ref>Due to the collision with the principal day of the [[Ludi_Apollinaris|''ludi Apollinaris'']], the feast day in honor of Caesar's birth was moved from the 13th to the 12th of July in the Roman ''[[fasti]]'' after Caesar's consecration as [[Divus Iulius]], since according to a [[Sibylline Books|Sibylline oracle]] it was not permitted to hold a festival for any other god than [[Apollo]] on July 13th. Cf. Cassius Dio: ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/47*.html#18.6 47.18.6]; see also Georg Wissowa (''Religion und Kultus der Römer'', 1912/1971), Matthias Gelzer (''Caesar'', 1959/1983), Stefan Weinstock (''Divus Julius'', 1971/2004) ''et al.''</ref> 100 BC;<ref>The most widely accepted year of birth. A case was made for 102 BC (cf. [[Theodor Mommsen]]: ''Römische Geschichte'' III 16.1, ''Römisches Staatsrecht'' I 568.2 & 569.2; ''pro'': T. Rice Holmes: ''The Roman Republic'', 1923, I 436–442), but was quickly rejected by Karl Nipperdey (''Die leges annales''. Leipzig 1865) and is generally viewed as incorrect.</ref> died 15 March 44 BC; Latin pronunciation: ['gaːjʊs 'juːlijʊs 'kaɪ̯sar]; usual English pronunciation: ['gaɪəs 'dʒuːliəs 'siːzəɹ]) was an aristocrat, politician and general of the late [[Roman Republic]], and played a key role in the transformation of the Republic into the [[Roman Empire]]. He rose through the ranks of Roman elected offices to reach the [[Consul|consulship]], and formed an unofficial, and controversial, [[First Triumvirate|triumvirate]] with [[Pompey|Pompey the Great]] and [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] which dominated Roman politics for several years. As a [[proconsul]], he conquered [[Gaul]] and made expeditions to [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Germania]]. After the collapse of the triumvirate, he fought and won a civil war against the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] and his former colleague Pompey, became the sole ruler of the Roman world, and was proclaimed [[Roman Dictator|Dictator]] in perpetuity. He left behind his own ''Commentaries'' on his wars in Gaul and the civil war, with supplementary books written by his supporters. He was assassinated by a group of senators hoping to restore the normal working of the Republic, but his death ushered in thirteen more years of civil war. Ultimately, his designated heir, [[Augustus]], would establish permanent [[autocracy|autocratic]] rule.
+{{subpages}}
+[[Image:Caesar_TusculumHead.jpg|260px|thumb|right|'''Contemporary depiction of C. Iulius Caesar'''<br><small>© AERIA (Used by [http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Image_talk:Caesar_TusculumHead.jpg/Permission permission])</small>]]'''Gaius Iulius Caesar'''<ref>Latin script: GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR; official name: ''Gaius Iulius Gai Filius Caesar'' (with ''Gai filius'' meaning "son of Gaius"); official name after his consecration 42 BC: ''Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar Divus'', epigraphically: <small>IMP•C•IVLIVS•CAESAR•DIVVS</small>, best translated as "Commander [and] God Gaius Julius Caesar"; also known: ''Gaius Iulius Gaii Filius Gaii Nepos Caesar'', translated: "Gaius Julius Caesar, son of Gaius, grandson of Gaius". Caesar often spoke of himself only as ''Gaius Caesar'', omitting the ''nomen gentile'' (cf. [[Plutarch]], ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#46 46]). For the meaning and the etymology of ''Gaius Iulius Caesar'' see [[Gaius Iulius Caesar (name)|''here'']].</ref> (anglicised '''Gaius Julius Caesar'''; born 13 July<ref>Due to the collision with the principal day of the [[Ludi_Apollinaris|''ludi Apollinaris'']], the feast day in honor of Caesar's birth was moved from the 13th to the 12th of July in the Roman ''[[fasti]]'' after Caesar's consecration as [[Divus Iulius]], since according to a [[Sibylline Books|Sibylline oracle]] it was not permitted to hold a festival for any other god than [[Apollo]] on July 13th. Cf. [[Cassius Dio]]: ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/47*.html#18.6 47.18.6]; see also Georg Wissowa (''Religion und Kultus der Römer'', 1912/1971), Matthias Gelzer (''Caesar'', 1959/1983), Stefan Weinstock (''Divus Julius'', 1971/2004) ''et al.''</ref> 100 BC;<ref>The most widely accepted year of birth. A case was made for 102 BC (cf. [[Theodor Mommsen]]: ''Römische Geschichte'' III 16.1, ''Römisches Staatsrecht'' I 568.2 & 569.2; ''pro'': T. Rice Holmes: ''The Roman Republic'', 1923, I 436–442), but was quickly rejected by Karl Nipperdey (''Die leges annales''. Leipzig 1865) and is generally viewed as incorrect.</ref> died 15 March 44 BC; Latin pronunciation: ['gaːjʊs 'juːlijʊs 'kaɪ̯sar]; usual English pronunciation: ['gaɪəs 'dʒuːliəs 'siːzəɹ]) was an aristocrat, politician and general of the late [[Roman Republic]], and played a key role in the transformation of the Republic into the [[Roman Empire]]. He rose through the ranks of Roman elected offices to reach the [[Consul|consulship]], and formed an unofficial, and controversial, [[First Triumvirate|triumvirate]] with [[Pompey|Pompey the Great]] and [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] which dominated Roman politics for several years. As a [[proconsul]], he conquered [[Gaul]] and made expeditions to [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Germania]]. After the collapse of the triumvirate, he fought and won a civil war against the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] and his former colleague Pompey, became the sole ruler of the Roman world, and was proclaimed [[Roman Dictator|Dictator]] in perpetuity. He wrote ''Commentaries'' on his wars in Gaul and the civil war, with supplementary books written by his supporters. His reformed [[calendar]], with minor modifications, is the same as is used today. He was assassinated by a group of senators hoping to restore the normal working of the Republic, but his death ushered in thirteen more years of civil war. Ultimately, his designated heir, [[Augustus]], would establish permanent [[autocracy|autocratic]] rule.
 ==Biography==
 ===Early life===
-Caesar grew up in a [[patrician]] family which had come to political prominence during his father's generation. Two relatives had been consuls in the 90s BC, and Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, had been [[praetor]] and governor of [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], and was brother-in-law to [[Gaius Marius]], one of the most prominent men in the Republic. His mother, Aurelia, came from an influential family, the Aurelii Cottae.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#1 1]; [[Plutarch]], ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#1 1], ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#6 6]; ''Inscriptiones Italiae'', 13.3.51-52</ref>
+Caesar grew up in a [[patrician]] family which, although it claimed a pedigree reaching back to before the founding of Rome, had only come to political prominence during his father's generation. Two relatives had been consuls in the 90s BC, and Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, had been [[praetor]] and governor of [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], and was brother-in-law to [[Gaius Marius]], one of the most prominent men in the Republic. His mother, Aurelia, came from an influential family, the Aurelii Cottae.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#1 1]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#1 1], ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#6 6]; ''Inscriptiones Italiae'' 13.3.51-52</ref>
-Rome already ruled much of the Mediterranean, but was politically unstable during Caesar's childhood, and faced external threats. The [[Social War]] against her Italian allies, over the issue of Roman citizenship and the spoils of conquest, was fought from 91 to 88 BC, and [[Mithridates VI of Pontus|Mithridates]] of [[Pontus]] was pressing her eastern provinces. With the Social War settled, [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] was appointed to lead the campaign against Mithridates, until a [[tribune]] passed a law stripping him of his command and transferring it to Marius. Sulla, who was with his troops near Naples, marched on Rome, forced Marius into exile, and left on campaign. Once he was gone, Marius retook the city, with the help of [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna]], and took bloody revenge on Sulla's supporters. One of those killed was [[Lucius Cornelius Merula]], the ''[[Flamen Dialis]]'' or priest of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]. Marius died in 85 BC, leaving Cinna in control of the city.<ref>[[Appian]], ''Civil Wars'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html#34 1:34-75]; Plutarch, ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#32 32-46], ''Sulla'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Sulla*.html#6 6-10]; [[Velleius Paterculus]], ''Roman History [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2A*.html#15 2.15-22]; [[Eutropius]], ''Abridgement of Roman History'' [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/trans5.html 5]; [[Florus]], ''Epitome of Roman History'' [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epitome_of_Roman_History/Book_2#6 2:6], [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epitome_of_Roman_History/Book_2#6 2:9]</ref>
+During Caesar's childhood, Rome already ruled much of the Mediterranean, but was politically unstable and faced external threats. The [[Social War]] against her Italian allies, over the issue of Roman citizenship and the spoils of conquest, was fought from 91 to 88 BC, and [[Mithridates VI of Pontus|Mithridates]] of [[Pontus]] was pressing her eastern provinces. With the Social War settled, [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]] was appointed to lead the campaign against Mithridates, until a [[tribune]] passed a law stripping him of his command and transferring it to Marius. Sulla, who was with his troops near Naples, marched on Rome, forced Marius into exile, and left on campaign. Once he was gone, Marius retook the city, with the help of [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna]], and took bloody revenge on Sulla's supporters. One of those killed was [[Lucius Cornelius Merula (consul 87 BC)|Lucius Cornelius Merula]], the ''[[Flamen Dialis]]'' or priest of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]. Marius died in 85 BC, leaving Cinna in control of the city.<ref>[[Appian]], ''Civil Wars'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html#34 1:34-75]; Plutarch, ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#32 32-46], ''Sulla'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Sulla*.html#6 6-10]; [[Velleius Paterculus]], ''Roman History [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2A*.html#15 2.15-22]; [[Eutropius]], ''Abridgement of Roman History'' [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/trans5.html 5]; [[Florus]], ''Epitome of Roman History'' [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epitome_of_Roman_History/Book_2#6 2:6], [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epitome_of_Roman_History/Book_2#6 2:9]</ref>
 [[Image:Caesar_Nicaea_48BC.jpg|170px|thumb|left|'''A young Caesar'''<ref>This is the first known coin with the likeness of Caesar. The coin depicts Caesar in his youth and was minted in 48 or 47 BC in [[İznik|Nicaea]].</ref><br><small>© VRoma (Used by [http://locke.citizendium.org:8080/wiki/Image_talk:Caesar_Nicaea_48BC.jpg/Permission permission])</small>]]In 84 BC Caesar's father died suddenly while putting on his shoes one morning,<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''Natural History'' [http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+7.54 7.54]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#1 1]</ref> leaving the sixteen-year-old Caesar as head of the family. He was nominated to replace Merula as ''Flamen Dialis'', and broke off his engagement to Cossutia, the daughter of a wealthy [[Equestrian (Roman)|equestrian]], to marry Cinna's daughter Cornelia.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#1 1]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#1 1]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#41 2.41]</ref>
@@ Line 20: / Line 22: @@
 ====Caesar comes to prominence====
-BC was an eventful year for Caesar. He persuaded a tribune, [[Titus Labienus]], to bring a prosecution against [[Gaius Rabirius]]. In 100 BC [[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus]], a tribune and ally of Marius, had been declared a public enemy by the Senate, and Marius had been obliged to besiege him in the Senate house. He had promised Saturninus and his followers that their lives would be spared if they surrendered, but instead they were stoned to death with roof tiles by a crowd that included senators.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html#32 32-33]; Plutarch, ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#29 29-30]</ref> Rabirius was now accused of the crime, and as by Roman law a tribune's person was sacrosanct, he was tried for ''perduellio'' (treason). He was defended by [[Cicero]] and [[Quintus Hortensius]], the two foremost advocates of the day, but Caesar himself was one of the two judges, and Rabirius was convicted. But while he was exercising his right of appeal to the people, the praetor [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer]] adjourned the assembly by taking down the military flag from the Janiculum hill. Labienus could have resumed the prosecution at a later session, but did not do so: Caesar's point had been made, and the matter was allowed to drop.<ref>Cicero, ''[http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Rab.+Perd.+1 For Gaius Rabirius]''; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html#26 26-28]</ref> Labienus would remain an important ally of Caesar over the next decade.
+BC was an eventful year for Caesar. He persuaded a tribune, [[Titus Labienus]], to bring a prosecution against [[Gaius Rabirius]]. In 100 BC [[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus]], a tribune and ally of Marius, had been declared a public enemy by the Senate, and Marius had been obliged to besiege him in the Senate house. He had promised Saturninus and his followers that their lives would be spared if they surrendered, but instead they were stoned to death with roof tiles by a crowd that included senators.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/1*.html#32 32-33]; Plutarch, ''Marius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marius*.html#29 29-30]</ref> Rabirius was now accused of the crime, and as by Roman law a tribune's person was sacrosanct, he was tried for ''perduellio'' (treason). He was defended by [[Cicero]] and [[Quintus Hortensius]], the two foremost advocates of the day, but Caesar himself was one of the two judges, and Rabirius was convicted. But while he was exercising his right of appeal to the people, the praetor [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer]] adjourned the assembly by taking down the military flag from the Janiculum hill. Labienus could have resumed the prosecution at a later session, but did not do so: Caesar's point had been made, and the matter was allowed to drop.<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Rab.+Perd.+1 For Gaius Rabirius]''; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html#26 26-28]</ref> Labienus would remain an important ally of Caesar over the next decade.
 The same year, Caesar ran for election to the post of [[Pontifex Maximus]], chief priest of the Roman state religion, after the death of [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius]], who had been appointed by Sulla. He ran against two former consuls, [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus]] and [[Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul 79 BCE)|Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus]]. There were accusations of bribery by all sides. Caesar is said to have told his mother on the morning of the election that he would return as Pontifex Maximus or not at all, expecting to be forced into exile by the enormous debts he had run up to fund his campaign. In the event he won comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#43 2.43]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#7 7]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#13 13]</ref> The post came with an official residence on the [[Via Sacra]].<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#46 46]</ref>
@@ Line 32: / Line 34: @@
 ====Propraetor====
-After his praetorship, Caesar was sent as propraetor to govern [[Hispania Ulterior]] (Outer [[Iberian peninsula|Iberia]]), but he was still in considerable debt, and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his implacable opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Hispania he conquered the [[Callaici]] and [[Lusitani]] and was hailed as ''[[imperator]]'' by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem.<ref>Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#11 11-12]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#18 18.1]</ref>
+After his praetorship, Caesar was sent as propraetor to govern [[Hispania Ulterior]], but he was still in considerable debt, and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his implacable opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Hispania he conquered the [[Callaici]] and [[Lusitani]] and was hailed as ''[[imperator]]'' by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem.<ref>Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#11 11-12]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#18 18.1]</ref>
 Being hailed as ''imperator'' entitled him to receive a [[Roman triumph|triumph]] upon his return to Rome. However, he also wanted to stand for [[consul]], the most senior magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony, but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time available. He asked the senate for permission to stand ''in absentia'', but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.<ref>Plutarch, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#13 13]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#18.2 18.2]</ref>
@@ Line 39: / Line 41: @@
 The election was dirty. There were three candidates: Caesar, [[Lucius Lucceius]] and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, who had been aedile with Caesar several years earlier. Caesar canvassed Cicero for support, and made an alliance with the wealthy Lucceius, but the establishment threw its financial weight behind the conservative Bibulus, and even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in his favour. Caesar and Bibulus were elected as consuls for 59 BC.<ref>Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#13 13-14]; Suetonius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#19 19]</ref>
-Caesar was already in Crassus's political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey, who was unsuccessfully fighting the Senate for ratification of his eastern settlements and farmland for his veterans. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds since they were consuls together in 70 BC, and Caesar knew if he allied himself with one he would lose the support of the other, so he endeavoured to reconcile them. Between the three of them, they had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the [[First Triumvirate]] (rule of three men), was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter [[Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar)|Julia]].<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.1 2.1], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.3 2.3]], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.17 2.17]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#44 2.44]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#13 13-14], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#47 47], ''Crassus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#14 14]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#19.2 19.2]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html#54 37.54-58]</ref> Caesar also married again, this time [[Calpurnia Pisonis|Calpurnia]], daughter of [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus]], who was elected to the consulship for the following year.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#21 21]</ref>
+Caesar was already in Crassus's political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey, who was unsuccessfully fighting the Senate for ratification of his eastern settlements and farmland for his veterans. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds since they were consuls together in 70 BC, and Caesar knew if he allied himself with one he would lose the support of the other, so he endeavoured to reconcile them. Between the three of them, they had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the [[First Triumvirate]], was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter [[Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar)|Julia]].<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.1 2.1], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.3 2.3]], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.17 2.17]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#44 2.44]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#13 13-14], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#47 47], ''Crassus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#14 14]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#19.2 19.2]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html#54 37.54-58]</ref> Caesar also married again, this time [[Calpurnia Pisonis|Calpurnia]], daughter of [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus]], who was elected to the consulship for the following year.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#21 21]</ref>
-Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, and the triumvirate's opponents were intimidated. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavourable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His [[lictor]]s had their ''[[fasces]]'' broken, two tribunes accompanying him were wounded, and Bibulus himself had a bucket of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved ineffective. Roman satirists ever after referred to the year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar".<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.15 2.15], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.16 2.16], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.17 2.17], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.18 2.18], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.19 2.19], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.20 2.20], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.21 2.21]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#44.4 44.4]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#14 14], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#47 47-48], ''Cato the Younger'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cato_Minor*.html#32 32-33]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html#1 38.1-8]</ref>
+Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, and the triumvirate's opponents were intimidated. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavourable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His [[lictor]]s had their ''[[fasces]]'' broken, two tribunes accompanying him were wounded, and Bibulus himself had a [[bucket]] of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved so ineffective that Roman satirists referred to that year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar".<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.15 2.15], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.16 2.16], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.17 2.17], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.18 2.18], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.19 2.19], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.20 2.20], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/2.21 2.21]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#44.4 44.4]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#14 14], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#47 47-48], ''Cato the Younger'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cato_Minor*.html#32 32-33]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html#1 38.1-8]</ref>
 When Caesar and Bibulus were first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit Caesar's future power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than governorship of a province, as their proconsular duties after their year of office was over.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#19.2 19.2]</ref> With the help of Piso and Pompey, Caesar later had this overturned, and was instead appointed to govern [[Cisalpine Gaul]] (northern Italy) and [[Illyricum]] (the western Balkans), with [[Transalpine Gaul]] (southern France) later added, giving him command of four legions. His term of office, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#44.4 2:44.4]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#14.10 14.10], ''Crassus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#14.3 14.3], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#48 48], ''Cato the Younger'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cato_Minor*.html#33.3 33.3]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#22 22]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html#8.5 38:8.5]</ref> When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his province.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#23 23]</ref>
 ===The conquest of Gaul===
+Caesar was still deeply in debt, and there was money to be made as a provincial governor, whether by extortion or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces, Illyricum and Transalpine Gaul, bordered on unconquered territory, and independent Gaul was known to be unstable. Rome's allies the [[Aedui]] had been defeated by their Gallic rivals, with the help of a contingent of Germanic [[Suebi]] under [[Ariovistus]], who had settled in conquered Aeduan land, and the [[Helvetii]] were mobilising for a mass migration, which the Romans feared had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated first the Helvetii, then Ariovistus, and left his army in winter quarters in the territory of the Sequani, signaling that his interest in the lands outside Transalpine Gaul would not be temporary.<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/1.19 1.19]; Julius Caesar, ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_1 Book 1]; Appian, ''Gallic Wars'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_gallic_1.html Epit. 3]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html#31 38.31-50]</ref>
-''to come''
+He began his second year with double the military strength he had started with, having raised another two legions in Cisalpine Gaul during the winter. The legality of this was dubious, as the Cisalpine Gauls were not Roman citizens. In response to Caesar's activities the previous year, the [[Belgae|Belgic]] tribes of north-eastern Gaul had begun to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move, and, after an inconclusive engagement against a united Belgic army, conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one legion, commanded by Crassus' son [[Publius Licinius Crassus|Publius]], began the conquest of the tribes of the [[Brittany|Armorican peninsula]].<ref>Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_2|Book 2]; Appian, ''Gallic Wars'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_gallic_1.html Epit. 4]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/39*.html#1 39.1-5]</ref>
+During the spring of 56 BC the Triumvirate held a conference at Luca (modern [[Lucca]]) in Cisalpine Gaul. Rome was in turmoil, and [[Publius Clodius Pulcher|Clodius]]' populist campaigns had been undermining relations between Crassus and Pompey. The meeting renewed the Triumvirate and extended Caesar's proconsulship for another five years. Crassus and Pompey would be consuls again, with similarly long-term proconsulships to follow: Syria for Crassus, the two Hispanian provinces for Pompey.<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to his brother Quintus'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Q.+fr.+2.3 2.3]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#24 24]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#21 21], ''Crassus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#14 14-15], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#51 51]</ref> The conquest of Armorica was completed when Caesar defeated the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] in a naval battle, while young Crassus conquered the [[Aquitani]] of the south-west. By the end of campaigning in 56 BC only the [[Morini]] and [[Menapii]] of the coastal Low Countries still held out.<ref>Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_3 Book 3]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/39*.html#40 39.40-46]</ref>
+In 55 BC Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by the Germanic [[Usipetes]] and [[Tencteri]], and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued the Morini and Menapii, he crossed to [[Britain]], claiming that the Britons had aided the Veneti against him the previous year. His intelligence was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the Kent coast he was unable to advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter.<ref>Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_4 Book 4]; Appian, ''Gallic Wars'' [http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_gallic_1.html Epit. 4]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/39*.html#47 47-53]</ref> He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, establishing [[Mandubracius]] of the [[Trinovantes]] as a friendly king and bringing his rival, [[Cassivellaunus]], to terms. But poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, led by [[Ambiorix]] of the [[Eburones]], forcing Caesar to campaign through the winter and into the following year. With the defeat of Ambiorix, Caesar believed Gaul was now pacified.<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to friends'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_friends/7.6 7.6], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_friends/7.7 7.7], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_friends/7.8 7.8], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_friends/7.10 7.10], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_friends/7.17 7.17]; ''Letters to his brother Quintus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_his_brother_Quintus/2.13 2.13], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_his_brother_Quintus/2.15 2.15], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_his_brother_Quintus/3.1 3.1];  ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/4.15 4.15], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/4.17 4.17], [http://www.wikisource.org/Letters_to_Atticus/4.18 4.18]; Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_5 Book 5-6]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#1 40.1-11]</ref>
+While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had died in childbirth. Caesar tried to resecure Pompey's support by offering him his great-niece [[Octavia Minor|Octavia]] in marriage, alienating Octavia's husband [[Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor|Gaius Marcellus]], but Pompey declined. In 53 BC Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of [[Parthia]]. Rome was on the edge of violence. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an emergency measure, and married [[Cornelia Metella|Cornelia]], daughter of Caesar's political opponent Quintus Metellus Scipio, whom he invited to become his consular colleague once order was restored. The Triumvirate was dead.<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#26 26]; Plutarch, ''Caesar'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#23.5 23.5], ''Pompey'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html#53 53-55], ''Crassus'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#16 16-33]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#46 46-47]</ref>
+In 52 BC another, larger revolt erupted in Gaul, led by [[Vercingetorix]] of the [[Arverni]]. Vercingetorix managed to unite the Gallic tribes and proved an astute commander, defeating Caesar in several engagements including the [[Battle of Gergovia]], but Caesar's elaborate siege-works at the [[Battle of Alesia]] finally forced his surrender.<ref>Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_7 Book 7]; Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#33 40.33-42]</ref> Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year,<ref>[[Aulus Hirtius]], ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_8 Book 8]]</ref> Gaul was effectively conquered.
 ===Civil war===
@@ Line 63: / Line 74: @@
 ''to come''
-==Etymologies of Caesar's name==
+==Cultural contributions==
-{{main|Caesar, name}}
+===Literary work===
-===Julius===
+Caesar was an accomplished writer, and is one of the most important literary sources for his own life. His ''Commentarii'' (commentaries or notebooks) on his military campaigns have survived entire. These may have been intended as rough materials for future historians, but in their quality and economy of expression, as Cicero notes,<ref>Cicero, ''Brutus'' [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/9776 262]</ref> they stand on their own as literary works. The ''[[Commentarii de bello Gallico]]'' ("on the Gallic war") cover his campaigns in Gaul in seven books, probably written in the winters following each campaigning season and circulated in Rome as political propaganda,<ref>Adrian Goldsworthy, ''Caesar: the Life of a Colossus'', Wiedenfield & Nicholson, 2006, p. 188</ref> with an eighth book written after his death by his subordinate [[Aulus Hirtius]]. The ''[[Commentarii de bello civili]]'' ("on the civil war") recount the first two years of the civil war, up to the beginning of his [[Alexandria|Alexandrian]] campaign in 48 BC, in three books. These are supplemented by three further books, which are not believed to be Caesar's work: the ''[[Commentarii de bello Alexandrini]]'' ("on the Alexandrian war"), which also covers the campaign against Pharnaces of Pontus in 47 BC; the ''[[Commentarii de bello Africo]]'' ("on the African war"), covering his campaigns against Scipio, Cato and Juba in Africa in 46 BC; and the ''[[Commentarii de bello Hispaniensis]]'' ("on the Spanish war"), on his campaigns against Pompey's sons in Hispania in 45 BC. The authorship of these books was uncertain even in antiquity: some thought they too were the work of Hirtius, others of [[Gaius Oppius]].<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56 56]</ref>
-The ''[[gens Julia]]'' traced their ''nomen gentile'' to their legendary ancestor [[Ascanius]], son of [[Aeneas]], who was also called ''Iulus'' or ''Iullus''. This is usually taken to mean "woolly worm", or the woolly part of a plant.  Iulus was identified by the Julians as the god [[Veiovis]], who was a "young Jupiter", and was said to have inaugurated the cult of Aeneas, deified as ''Iuppiter indiges'', in [[Alba Longa]]. The Julian clan's  chronicler [[Lucius Caesar]] connected the name ''Iulus'' with ''ἰοβόλος'' ("the good archer") and ''ἴουλος'' ("the youth whose first beard is growing"), based on a statue of Iulus-Veiovis as a bearded archer,<ref>Servius, ''Commentary on the Aeneid'' 1.267</ref> and others derived it from king [[Ilus]], the founder of [[Troy]],<ref>[[Vergil]], ''Aeneid'' 1.267; Servius ''Commentary on the Aeneid'' 1.267</ref> but these appear be to folk etymologies of no validity.
+He wrote a number of other literary works, now lost bar a few fragments quoted by later writers. These include ''[[De analogia]]'' ("on analogy"), a work on Latin grammar dedicated to Cicero; ''[[Anticato]]'', a character assassination of Cato in two books, written in 46 BC in response to works in praise of his old enemy by Brutus and Cicero;<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Atticus'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Att.+12.40 12.40], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Att.+12.41 12.41], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Att.+13.50 13.50]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.5 56.5]; Plutarch, ''Caesar''[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#54.3 54.3-5]; Goldsworthy, ''Caesar'', pp. 487-488</ref> ''[[Iter]]'' ("the journey"), a poem in two books;<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.5 56.5]; Suetonius, ''Terence'' [http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_suetterence.htm 7]</ref> and a number of other poems, including three [[epigram]]s preserved in the ''[[Latin Anthology]]''.<ref>''[[Latin Anthology]]'' [http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=OYcU_1cU2HYC&pg=PR3&dq=%22anthologia+latina%22&as_brr=1#PPA17,M1 68-70]</ref> A few of his letters are included or quoted in the collection of Cicero's ''Letters'', and others, now lost, were known to Suetonius<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.6 56.6]</ref> and Appian.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars''[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#79 2.79]</ref>
-===Caesar===
+Three of his youthful efforts, the ''Laudes Herculis'' ("praises of Hercules"), the tragedy ''Oedipus'',<ref>It is a mentionable parallel that Suetonius renders Caesar's defilement of the Roman motherland as an Oedipal dream (Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#7.2 7.2]).</ref>  and his ''Dicta collectanea'' ("collected sayings", also known by the Greek title ''άποφθέγματα'', "apothegms" or "''bons mots''")<ref>Cicero, ''Letters to Friends'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Fam.+9.16 9.16]</ref> were deliberately suppressed by Augustus,<ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.7 56.7]</ref> who not only adopted an "official style" for his writings but also ordered such works of Julius Caesar as he considered unworthy of the Caesars to be destroyed. Other lost works include ''De astris liber'' ("book of the stars"), a work on [[astronomy]] and the [[calendar]];<ref>O.A.W. Dilke, "The Literary Output of the Roman Emperors", ''Greece & Rome'' IV 1, 1957, p. 92-94</ref> ''Libri auspiciorum'' ("books of auspices", also known as ''Auguralia''), a work on omens and soothsaying;<ref>"Caesar", in ''Meyers Konversationslexikon'' Vol. III, p. 841</ref> and possibly some early love poems. He is also likely to have contributed to the ''libri pontificales'' of the pontifical college while ''Pontifex Maximus'' between 63 and 44 BC.
-[[Image:Caesar_1stDenarius_reverse_elephant.jpg|200px|thumb|right|'''Caesar's first ''denarius'' (reverse)'''<br><small>© Harlan J. Berk (Used by [http://locke.citizendium.org:8080/wiki/Image_talk:Caesar_1stDenarius_reverse_elephant.jpg/Permission permission])</small>]]
-The etymology of the cognomen ''Caesar'', originally a ''praenomen'', is unknown and was subject to many interpretations in antiquity. The suffix ''–ar'' is unusual in Latin, which might imply a non-Latin origin of the name.
-Caesar himself propagated a derivation from the Moorish or Punic word for "elephant", following the claims of his family that they inherited the cognomen from an ancestor who had killed an elephant, possibly during the [[First Punic War|first Punic War]]. Caesar's first denarius, probably minted in [[Cisalpine Gaul]], featured an elephant treading on a Gallic serpent-horn, the [[Ancient Celtic music|''carnyx'']], as a symbolic depiction of Caesar's victories. [[Polyaenus]] tells an unlikely anecdote about Caesar using an armoured elephant during his expeditions to Britain, which may derive from a confusion with Claudius' use of elephants in his conquest of Britain in AD 43,<ref>Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60*.html#21 60:21])</ref> but may be connected with this interpretation of Caesar's name.
+===Oratory===
+Caesar was a talented [[oratory|orator]], regarded as second only to Cicero and praised for the vigour and elegance of his language. Instructed by [[Apollonius Molon]] and influenced by his relative [[Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo|Caesar Strabo]], he combined a high-pitched delivery with impassioned, graceful gestures.<ref>Cicero, ''Brutus'' [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/9776 72, 74]; Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#36.2 2:36.2]; [[Quintilian]], ''Institutio Oratoria'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/10A*.html#1.114 10:1.114]; Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#55 55]</ref> However, his pursuit of political and military success did not allow his talent to flourish as much as it otherwise might have, and [[Tacitus]] regards his speeches, then extant, as "dull and cold".<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Dialogue on Oratory'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0082;query=chapter%3D%2321;layout=;loc=22 21]</ref> Speeches of which fragments survive include:
-Several other interpretations were propagated in antiquity. The ''[[Historia Augusta]]'',<ref>''Historia Augusta'', ''Aelius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Aelius*.html#2 2.3]</ref> besides the "elephant" interpretation, suggests two further possible derivations: that the first to bear the name had bright blue/grey eyes (''a caesis oculis''), although Caesar's eyes were black,  and this may have been an attempt to associate him with the blue-eyed dictator Sulla; or that he had a full head of hair (''a caesaries''), perhaps a joke at the expense of the balding Caesar. [[Pliny the Elder]] suggests that the first Caesar was born by [[caesarian section]] (''a caeso matris utero'').<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'' [http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+7.7 7.7]</ref>  This could also have been anti-Caesarian propaganda, connected with the report that Caesar dreamed of committing incest with his mother, i.e. the earth.
+* ''Orationes in Cn. Cornelium Dolabellam''
+* ''Suasio Legis Plautiae''
+* ''[[Laudatio Iuliae amitae]]''
+* ''Ad milites in Africa''
+* ''Apud milites de commodis eorum''
+* ''Pro Bithynis''
-==Literary work==
+===The Julian Calendar===
 ''to come''
-===List of Caesar's literary works===
-====Works preserved in their entirety====
-* ''[[De Bello Gallico|Commentarii de bello Gallico]]'' (Commentaries on the Gallic war)
-* ''[[De Bello Civili|Commentarii de bello civili]]'' (Commentaries on the civil war)
-* <small>''De Bello Hispaniensi'' (Caesar's authorship doubted)</small>
-* <small>''De Bello Africo'' (Caesar's authorship doubted)</small>
-* <small>''De Bello Alexandrino'' (Caesar's authorship doubted)</small>
-====Works preserved in fragments====
-* <small>Orations:</small>
-** <small>''Orationes in Cn. Cornelium Dolabellam''</small>
-** <small>''Suasio Legis Plautiae''</small>
-** <small>''[[Laudatio Iuliae amitae]]''</small>
-** <small>''Ad milites in Africa''</small>
-** <small>''Apud milites de commodis eorum''</small>
-** <small>''Pro Bithynis''</small>
-* <small>[[De analogia|''De analogia ad M. Tullium Ciceronem'']]</small>
-* <small>[[Anticato|''Anticatonis Libri II'']]</small>
-* <small>''Carmina et prolusiones''</small>
-* <small>''Epistulae ad Ciceronem''</small>
-* <small>''Epistulae ad familiares''</small>
-* <small>''[[Iter]]''</small>
-====Lost works====
-Several of Caesar's juvenile and later writings were lost, some of them due to a partial [[Damnatio memoriae|''damnatio memoriae'']] declared by Caesar's successor [[Augustus]].<ref>Sueton, ''Jul.'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#56.7 56.7]. The writing politician or emperor in Rome had a higher responsibility than the ordinary writer. Augustus didn't only adopt an "official style" for his writings but also ordered such works of Iulius Caesar as he considered unworthy of the Caesars to be destroyed.</ref> Among them are:<br>
-* <small>''Laudes Herculis'' ("Praise of Hercules")</small>
-* <small>''Oedipus''<ref>It is a mentionable parallel that Suetonius renders Caesar's defilement of the Roman motherland as an Oedipus dream. (Suetonius, ''Julius'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#7.2 7.2])</ref> (a tragedy)</small>
-* <small>''άποφθέγματα''<ref>"Bon mots"; the work's name is given by Cicero, ''Letters to his Friends'' [http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Cic.+Fam.+9.16 9.16.4]; Suetonius: ''Dicta collectanea''</ref> (a collection of sayings)</small>
-* <small>''De astris liber'' (one or two works on [[Astronomy|astronomy]] and the [[Calendar|calendar]])<ref>According to O.A.W. Dilke ("The Literary Output of the Roman Emperors", in: ''Greece & Rome'', IV 1, 1957) many sources (excluding Suetonius) mention these works, and "it is thought by some that these may have been written for, not by, Caesar." (p92.4)</ref></small>
-* <small>''Libri auspiciorum'' (books relating to omens and soothsaying)<ref>"Caesar", in: ''Meyers Konversationslexikon'' (Vol. III, p841); alternative name: ''Auguralia''</ref></small>
-* <small>several unmentioned publications as [[Pontifex Maximus|''pontifex maximus'']] in the ''libri pontificales'' of the pontifical college (63–44 BC)</small>
-* <small>possibly Caesar's early love poems</small>
 ==Cultural depictions==
@@ Line 122: / Line 99: @@
 ==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
+<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
+<references />
-==Bibliography==
+</div>
-* Baehr, Peter R. ''Caesar and the Fading of the Roman World: A Study in Republicanism and Caesarism,'' (1998), deals with the memory and interpretation of Caesar
-* Dando-Collins, Stephen. ''Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome,'' 2002 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108677331 online edition]
-* Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. ''Caesar, a History of the Art of War among the Romans down to the End of the Roman Empire, with a Detailed Account of the Campaigns of Caius Julius Caesar'' (1893) 789pp old classic; [http://books.google.com/books?id=j5MCAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR5&dq=Dodge%3B+%27%27Caesar&as_brr=1 online edition]
-* Fuller, J. F. C. ''Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier, and Tyrant,'' 1991, 336pp; military history
-* Gérard, Walter. ''Caesar: A Biography.'' 1952 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5958262 online edition]
-* Goldsworthy, Adrian. ''Caesar: Life of a Colossus'' (Yale U.P. 2006), 608pp; major military biography
-* Gilliver, Kate. ''Caesar's Gallic Wars, 58-50 B.C.,'' Routledge, 2003, 95pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107971112 online edition]
-* Grant, Michael. ''Julius Caesar,'' 1969  by leading historian or Rome
-* Holmes, T. Rice. ''Caesar's Conquest of Gaul,'' 1911
-* Jiménez, Ramon L. ''Caesar against Rome: The Great Roman Civil War,'' Praeger Publishers, 2000 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15452236 online edition]
-* Liddell, H.G. ''Life of Julius Caesar,'' 1886, 255 pp; old classic [http://books.google.com/books?id=D8kDAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=Caesar+liddell&sig=KCGIdFo_2G_0UPApBsIvfeoBavg online edition]
-* Welch, Kathryn, and Anton Powell, eds. ''Julius Caesar As Artful Reporter,'' (1998) 240pp; 10 esssays by scholars on Caesar's ''War Commentaries''
-* Wyke, Maria. ''Julius Caesar in Western Culture,'' (2006)
-* Zander, Horst, ed. ''Julius Caesar: New Critical Essays'' Routledge, 2005, 358pp deals with Caesar in literature, esp. Shakespeare. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=109188192 online edition]
-[[Category:Classics Workgroup|Caesar Julius]]
+==See also==
-[[Category:History Workgroup]]
+*[[Gaius Iulius Caesar (name)|Etymology and meaning of the name ''Gaius Iulius Caesar'']]
-[[Category:Politics Workgroup]]
+*''[[Gens Iulia]]'' – the Julian family
-[[Category:Military Workgroup]]
+*''[[Iulii Caesares]]''
-[[Category:CZ Live]]
+*[[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]
+*[[Julio-Claudian family tree]]
+*[[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'' as an imperial title]]
+*[[Julius (name)]]
+*[[Gaius (name)]]
+*[[Julius Caesar (disambiguation)]]
+*[[Caesar (disambiguation)]][[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]

Julius Caesar: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:00, 7 September 2024

Contents

Biography

Early life

Political career

Early career

Caesar comes to prominence

Praetor

Propraetor

Consul

The conquest of Gaul

Civil war

Dictatorship

Assassination

Legacy

Cultural contributions

Literary work

Oratory

The Julian Calendar

Cultural depictions

References

See also

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Julius Caesar: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:00, 7 September 2024

Biography

Early life

Political career

Early career

Caesar comes to prominence

Praetor

Propraetor

Consul

The conquest of Gaul

Civil war

Dictatorship

Assassination

Legacy

Cultural contributions

Literary work

Oratory

The Julian Calendar

Cultural depictions

References

See also

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